Friday, January 19, 2017 Sarkisian's Pick For Next Armenian President Announced . Emil Danielyan Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian (R) meets with Armenian Ambassador to Britain Armen Sarkissian in Yerevan, 19Jan2018. President Serzh Sarkisian officially confirmed on Friday that he wants a former Armenian prime minister currently serving as Armenia's ambassador to Britain to succeed him as head of state in April. Meeting with Ambassador Armen Sarkissian (no relation), he said the governing board of his ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) unanimously accepted late on Thursday his proposal to nominate the prominent diplomat for the post of president of republic. Sarkissian, who has lived in London for nearly three decades, did not immediately accept the nomination. He said he needs to hold consultations with major political parties, civic groups, prominent intellectuals and "business circles" before making a "final decision." "And if I make a decision [to accept the nomination] after those meetings I will strive to perform the duties of Armenia's president with honor and to live up to the confidence which I have heard from you and your party comrades and which I hope to also hear from other fellow citizens," added the 64-year-old former scholar. The end of Sarkisian's decade-long presidency on April 9 will complete Armenia's transition to a parliamentary system of government. It means that most of the presently sweeping presidential powers will be transferred to the prime minister and his cabinet. Also, the next president will be elected by the parliament, rather than popular vote, as has been the case until now. The ruling HHK controls the majority of seats in the National Assembly. It is therefore in a position to install Sarkisian's pick for the next president. The outgoing president, who could remain in power as prime minister, said earlier this week that his successor should be a renowned but politically inexperienced individual who speaks foreign languages and has "broad connections" in Armenia and its worldwide Diaspora. In remarks publicized by the presidential press office, he clarified on Friday that the next president must be "politically prepared and hardened but not politicized." "He must be able to organize dialogue between various political forces and, if necessary, ease tensions between various strata of the society," he said, adding that Armen Sarkissian fits the bill. "You are an acclaimed scholar, you held the post of Armenia's prime minister, you have a great deal of diplomatic experience, and this is the reason why we have seriously considered your candidacy," Serzh Sarkisian told the ambassador. The president also expressed hope that should he decide to accept the HHK offer Sarkissian would try to win the backing of the three other political groups represented in the National Assembly. Those are the HHK's junior coalition partner, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Gagik Tsarukian's alliance and the opposition Yelk bloc. Yelk fielded its own presidential candidate late last year. A physicist and mathematician by education, Armen Sarkissian worked at the Cambridge University when he was appointed as newly independent Armenia's first ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1991. He served as prime minister for four months in 1996-1997 before being again named ambassador in London. His second ambassadorial stint was cut short in 1999 by then President Robert Kocharian. Sarkissian stayed in London and went on to work as a senior advisor to major Western corporations such as BP, Alcatel and Bank of America. He also founded and ran the Eurasia Center of a Cambridge University business school from 2001-2011. He was appointed as Armenian ambassador to Britain for a third time in 2013. Sarkissian, who is thought to have made a big fortune in the UK in the 2000s, has rarely commented on political developments in Armenia. He said on Friday that Armenia is now entering a "period of big changes" that should turn it into a "more democratic country." Government Reports Strong Growth In 2017 Armenia - Workers at a new textile factory in Yerevan, 5Oct2017. Armenia's economy grew by around 6.7 percent last year after stagnating in 2016, the Finance Ministry said on Friday. Finance Minister Vartan Aramian and other senior ministry officials presented preliminary macroeconomic data for 2017 at a meeting with Prime Minister that focused on the economic situation in the country. The Armenian government had forecast a 3.2 percent growth rate for 2017 more than a year ago. It revised that target upwards to 4.3 percent in September. In its World Economic Outlook released in October, the International Monetary Fund said that Armenian growth will reach 3.5 percent. For its part, the World Bank said earlier this month that the Armenian economy was on course to expand by 3.7 percent in 2017. According to a government statement on Friday's meeting, the Finance Ministry leadership attributed the 6.7 percent growth estimate to the better-than-expected performances of the services and construction sectors. It also cited a 7.3 percent rise in the government's 2017 tax revenue and a 13.4 percent surge in cash remittances from abroad. Karapetian told the ministry officials that 2018 will be an "extremely important" year for the domestic economy. "This year we must lay the groundwork for long-term sustainable growth and [growing] capital and other spending," he said, according to the statement. In its policy program approved by the Armenian parliament in June, Karapetian's cabinet committed itself to achieving an annual growth rate of around 5 percent in 2017-2022. The program describes rising exports as "the key engine" of that growth, saying that the government will strive to facilitate Armenian manufacturers' access to Russia, the EU and other foreign markets. Official statistics show that Armenian exports soared by 23.5 percent in 2017. Tsarukian In No Rush To Back Presidential Candidate . Astghik Bedevian Armenia - Businessman Gagik Tsarukian attends a meeting between President Serzh Sarkisian and Armenian parliament leaders in Yerevan, 12Jan2018. Armenia's second largest parliamentary force led by businessman Gagik Tsarukian was in no rush to endorse on Friday a presidential candidate nominated by the outgoing President Serzh Sarkisian's Republican Party (HHK). A senior member of the Tsarukian Bloc, Naira Zohrabian, said it will wait and see whether the potential candidate, Armen Sarkissian, accepts the nomination. "We will formulate a position when Armen Sarkissian makes a final decision," she told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). Tsarukian earlier did not rule out the possibility of throwing his weight behind an HHK presidential candidate. He also said that his bloc, which claims to be in opposition to the government, will not field a presidential candidate of its own. Armen Sarkissian told the outgoing president earlier on Friday that he needs "some time" to decide whether to accept the nomination. He said he will make that decision after holding consultations with leaders of Armenia's main political groups. Under the Armenian constitution, the parliament must choose the next president of the republic by March 10, one month before the end of Serzh Sarkisian's final term. A presidential candidate has to be backed by a three-fourths and two-thirds majority of lawmakers in order to win in the first and second rounds of voting respectively. A simple majority of votes is enough to win the presidency in the third round. The HHK has such a majority in the National Assembly. Nevertheless, Serzh Sarkisian stressed the importance of multi-partisan support for his preferred successor. He said he therefore hopes that Armen Sarkissian would win outright in the first round. In that case, Sarkissian would need the backing of at least 79 members of the 105-seat parliament. The ruling HHK and its junior coalition partner, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), control 65 seats between them, compared with 31 seats held by the Tsarukian Bloc. Dashnaktsutyun's parliamentary leader, Artem Rustamian, also made clear that his party has yet to decide whether to vote for Armen Sarkissian. Still, he spoke highly of the man currently serving as Armenia's ambassador to Britain. "We have known Mr. Sarkissian and have had relations with him for a long time," Rustamian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). The opposition Yelk alliance, the fourth group represented in parliament, moved to field its own presidential hopeful, Artak Zeynalian, late last year. The constitution stipulates that only those individuals who are endorsed by at least 27 deputies can run for president. Yelk holds 9 parliament seats. It appears to have failed to win the Tsarukian Bloc's support for Zeynalian's candidacy. Armenian Opposition Supporters Rally Against Price Hikes . Karlen Aslanian Armenia - Leaders and supporters of the opposition Yelk alliance hold an anti-government demonstration in Yerevan, 19Jan2018. The opposition Yelk alliance rallied hundreds of supporters in Yerevan on Friday to protest against recent increases in the prices of fuel and some foodstuffs which it blames on government policies. The price rises were caused, in part, by new tax legislation mandating higher excise duties on fuel, tobacco and alcohol. The cost of gasoline, diesel fuel and liquefied natural gas used by most vehicles in Armenia rose by over 10 percent immediately after it went into force on January 1. Yelk leaders demanded that the authorities reverse the higher taxes when they addressed the crowd before it marched through downtown Yerevan, chanting "Reduction!"They said that the price hikes are increasing poverty in the country. "We are saying no to price hikes and demand a reduction of the tax rates that led to the higher prices of basic products," said one of them, Nikol Pashinian. "We are demanding price and tax cuts." Pashinian repeatedly urged Armenians to take to the streets in larger numbers and heighten the pressure on the authorities. But speaking to reporters, he downplayed the relatively poor attendance at the protest and said the Yelk campaign will gradually gain momentum. The outspoken oppositionist claimed that Yelk will soon hold "the biggest and most decisive rally in Armenia's history." Another Yelk leader, Aram Sarkisian, insisted in a speech that the opposition bloc will pull larger crowds in March and April after many Armenians feel the impact of the higher prices more acutely. The next Yelk rally is scheduled for February 5. Prime Minister Karen Karapetian downplayed that impact when he answered questions from Yelk leaders on the parliament floor on Wednesday. He insisted that consumer price inflation in Armenia remains low. Karapetian also defended the increased tax rates, saying that the government needs more revenue to boost its expenditures and repay foreign loans. For his part, President Serzh Sarkisian held on January 10 an emergency meeting with senior state officials to discuss ways of mitigating socioeconomic consequences of the price hikes. Sarkisian also initiated parliamentary hearings on the issue which will be held on Tuesday. Other, more radical opposition groups refused to join Friday's protest, saying that Yelk is not campaigning for regime change. Pashinian rejected that criticism. He said that the opposition cannot seriously threaten the authorities' hold on power without forcing them to scrap the rate hikes first. Press Review "Zhamanak" discusses growing indications that Armenia's ambassador to Britain, Armen Sarkissian, will become the next president of the republic. The paper dismisses as an oversimplification a widely held belief that Serzh Sarkisian wants his successor to be a weak and "easy-to-manage" figure. "It is hard to imagine that Armen Sarkissian needs to end his activities abroad to work as a figurehead president in Armenia," it says. "Sarkissian's appointment is a further indication that what is happening in Armenia is a transformation of the existing pyramid-shaped internal political system into a more multi-layered and complex system." "Aravot" hopes that the choice of Armen Sarkissian heralds the start of major changes within the ruling elite. The paper says that that elite mostly consists of thuggish individuals at present. "Chorrord Ishkhanutyun" claims that Serzh Sarkisian wanted to make Armenia "part of the Russian Empire" when he decided in 2013 to seek its entry into the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). To that end, it says, he decided to "eliminate the institution of the president" and "create a de facto one-party system" where all major decisions are made by his coterie. "Serzh Sarkisian has successfully accomplished that by changing the constitution," writes the pro-opposition daily. "Zhoghovurd" reports that Armenia's public debt continued to rise in 2017, reaching $6.77 billion in December. "Note that a large part of this debt -- $6.17 billion -- is the government's debt," the paper says. "Karen Karapetian's government is no different from the previous ones. In order to solve current day-to-day issues his government too takes new loans, leaving it to Armenia's citizens to repay them." (Tigran Avetisian) Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2018 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org